Health and Healthcare
Biogen Rises on Solid Earnings Beat
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When Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) reported its third-quarter financial results before the markets opened on Wednesday, it posted $5.19 in earnings per share (EPS) and $2.96 billion in revenue. Consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters had called for $4.97 in EPS and revenue of $2.9 billion. The same period of last year reportedly had EPS of $4.48 and $2.78 billion in revenue.
In September 2016, Biogen presented updated clinical findings from its broad portfolio of multiple sclerosis (MS) therapies at the 32nd congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) in London. Presentations included real-world data and new clinical evidence demonstrating that Tecfidera consistently delivers strong, sustained efficacy in relapsing-remitting MS while affirming its well-characterized safety profile.
In October 2016, Biogen filed a Marketing Authorization Application with the European Medicines Agency, which had already granted Accelerated Assessment status to nusinersen. Earlier in September 2016, Biogen completed the rolling submission of a New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the approval of nusinersen.
Biogen has also applied for Priority Review, which, if granted, would shorten the review period of nusinersen following the FDA’s acceptance of the NDA.
During the third quarter of 2016, Biogen repurchased 1.1 million shares of its common stock for a total value of $349 million.
CEO George A. Scangos, Ph.D., commented:
This quarter we saw solid performance from our leading multiple sclerosis business as an increasing number of patients globally are benefiting from our diverse portfolio of therapies. We are also excited to be offering patients a new treatment option with the introduction of Zinbrytatm, a new therapy for multiple sclerosis. In our biosimilars business, we are pleased to have launched two new treatments in Europe: Flixabi, a biosimilar of infliximab, and Benepali, a biosimilar of etanercept.
On the books, Biogen cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities totaled roughly $7.4 billion at the end of the quarter.
Shares of Biogen traded up more than 4% Wednesday to $298.79, with a consensus analyst price target of $340.33 and a 52-week trading range of $223.02 to $333.65.
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